


Drowning

by ambiguous_nights



Series: Whumptober 2020 [15]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Day 18, Gen, Panic Attacks, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:08:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27116573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ambiguous_nights/pseuds/ambiguous_nights
Summary: Obi-wan has refused Dooku's offer to join him for the last time.
Series: Whumptober 2020 [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1950745
Comments: 2
Kudos: 48





	Drowning

**Author's Note:**

> warnings- death, panic attacks, drowning

Obi-wan wakes to a bucket of cold water poured over him and a bout of violent coughing as he struggles to clear his lungs of the water he had accidently inhaled. The freezing water drips down to the floor of the cell Dooku had locked him with the promise that he would either join Dooku or die. That had been days ago. Days without food, without water, without even a blanket to keep him warm.

The chilly water clings to his clothes as he stands up. He shrieks when another bucket of freezing water drops onto him. He glares up at the grated ceiling to find Dooku looking down at him, a droid with two buckets in hand standing beside him.

“This is your last chance, Kenobi,” Dooku says. “Join me.”

“Never,” Obi-wan says.

“Then you will die.”

Obi-wan glares up at the Sith as the man strides forward and twists a nob. For a moment, there is nothing. Then water pours from a pipe and into Obi-wan’s cell. Obi-wan jerks away from stream of water as it splatters against the floor.

“What are you doing?” Obi-wan asks as the water filling his cell reaches his ankles. This isn’t how Separatists execute their prisoners.

“My master requested a particularly gruesome death for you,” Dooku says. “But I’m afraid I don’t have the heart to burn you alive, Grandpadawan. Though this won’t be especially pleasant for you either.”

“Your master?” Obi-wan asks.

“Palpatine,” Dooku says.

Obi-wan’s heart skips. No. No, that can’t be. Dooku’s just trying to hurt him. Palpatine can’t be Sidious. He can’t.

“Search your feelings, Obi-wan.”

The Force snakes around Obi-wan’s neck, curling tighter until he can’t breathe. It rings of a truth so horrible Obi-wan’s body begins to shake violently.

“Anakin,” Obi-wan says. He has to get out of here. He has to get Anakin away from him. He has to warn the Council, the Senate, anyone who will listen. And even if they don’t, he’ll find some way to stop this, even if he has to kill Palpatine himself.

The water reaches his knees.

“Now you see the truth,” Dooku says. “The one I warned you about all those years ago. You should have joined me then.”

“Please, Dooku, I’ll join you,” Obi-wan says. “We have to stop Sidious. Please.”

“You had your chance, Kenobi,” Dooku says.

“No, Dooku, please,” Obi-wan says. “Please, you have to get Anakin away from him.”

“Oh, Obi-wan,” Dooku says. “It’s far too late for that apprentice of yours.”

The water laps at his waist.

Obi-wan struggles to breathe as the water creeps further up his body. There has to be a way out of here. There has to be something he can do. This can’t be how it ends. He needs to get to Anakin. He needs to get him away from Palpatine.

His stomach lurches at the thought of what Palpatine could have been doing to Anakin. They’ve known each other for years and had private meetings Obi-wan wasn’t permitted to attend, despite his concerns as Anakin’s guardian. But what could he say to the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic? Not even the Council had the power to stand against him.

The water reaches his neck.

How could Obi-wan have missed this? How could he have missed his own padawan being groomed by a Sith lord?

Obi-wan’s breath comes in shorter gasps as he tries to regain control of himself. He needs to think of an escape plan. He needs to do something. Anything.

But Dooku wouldn’t have revealed this to Obi-wan if he intended on letting him live. He reaches out with the Force, probing for weaknesses, but finds only Dooku’s icy presence lingering on the edge of consciousness.

Obi-wan takes to treading water as the water rises further still. His head bumps against the grated ceiling of his cell. He wraps his fingers around the cold bars and yanks with all his strength. He needs to get out of here. The Jedi are as good as dead if Palpatine stays in power. The Republic will be destroyed. Millions will die. And Palpatine won’t stop there. The devastation the Sith had wrought on the galaxy thousands of years ago had still not been recovered from.

Entire species were lost. Many more are still recovering their population after planets were decimated by the Sith armies. Even the Jedi have struggled to regain their numbers.

Trillions had died. And Palpatine will lead them down that path again.

Obi-wan presses his face to the grate, trying to take another breath as the water fills his cell.

And then the air is gone. He chokes immediately, unable to stop his panicked breathing long enough to take a proper breath.

He reaches out for Anakin, trying and failing to break past the barrier Dooku had placed between them. Anakin needs to know. 

Obi-wan strains and thrashes against the grate, but it doesn’t give. His lungs burn as water fills them and destroys the delicate tissue within.

And then he hears a song. It reaches out for him, prying his soul from his body as he screams and begs for just a moment more, just enough to speak to Anakin.

But the Force does not listen to his pleas.


End file.
